They are gametophytes, sporophyte of a moss is just a sporangium. You
can find three different species of Sphagnum from almost any bog.
Bogs and Sphagnum are easier to find in Finland than in Texas, at least
when they are not under snow and ice :-(
> About the "gametophytes of something", does anyone know anything about
>ferns that would be found in a _Sphagnum_ bog, especially one in Canada. The
>sporophyte fern that's growing is too young to identify as oActually, I'm not
>even certain that they ARE gametophytes. They could be some sort of lichen or
>strange algae. Does anyone know anything about fern gametophytes? These are
>about 1 centimeter across, are dark green and fleshy, and are putting out
>"leaves" that look something like cactus spines, but are in a loose ball, are
>relatively soft, and are about 1/3 of a centimeter in length. Any clues?
They could be lichens or liverworths.
>And finally, the "grass-like plant". It's about 12 centimeters tall
>now and is probably two or three months old (I noticed it two or three
>weeks ago). The leaves are almost like spines, thin, waxy, almost like
>pine needles, but not sharp. It doesn't have much of a root system and
>has a "bulb" that is about 1/2 a centimeter in diameter. I was looking
>through a Botany book earlier this evening and I came across a genus
>that sounds kind of like it. The common name of the genus is
>Horse-tail (or something like that; the actual name of the genus starts
>with an I. I keep wanting to say it's Isoptera, but that is termites;
>not quite the same thing). The book says that they like to live
>partially submerged in marshy areas, so it sounds like it might be it,
>So my question is, has anyone heard of this plant and does it grow in
>Canadian bogs?
I think you are referring to Isoetes, a small aquatic pteridophyte.
I don't think you would find it in a Sphagnum bog, my guess would be some
sort of a sedge, perhaps an Eriophorum.
Erkki
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Erkki '\rkki' Aalto "Life consists of two parts:
Internet: Erkki.Aalto@Helsinki.FI The horrible and the miserable"
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